When England Conquered the World

[00:00:00] Hello football fans and welcome to Football Bedtime Stories. I'm Damien bringing you Matchday Mindfulness to help you unwind and relax with some of the greatest moments in football. If you like the podcast, don't forget to follow and subscribe for more episodes. Ahead of the World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the USA, let's hop back to 1966.

[00:00:28] It was 60 years ago when England last played host to the world. It was the height of the swinging 60s when telly was still black and white and both nations still bore the scars of war and separation.

[00:00:43] Settle in. This is England versus West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. This was London, 1966 and the old Wembley Stadium. Imagine the England players coming out of the tunnel. The grass is bright, the stadium is packed.

[00:01:06] More than 90,000 people are inside Wembley, wearing coats and ties, summer dresses, caps and scarves. Some are nervous, some are singing. Some are just staring at the pitch, hardly blinking, because they know they might be about to witness something they'll talk about for the rest of their lives. England's captain for the game is Bobby Moore. Calm, elegant and cool as anything.

[00:01:34] Behind him in the tunnel are players whose names are still spoken about like football spells. In goal, Gordon Banks. Full-backs, George Cohen and Ray Wilson. In defence, Jack Charlton and Bobby Moore. Nobby Stiles is small, tough and impossible to ignore. Alan Ball buzzing around midfield like he has extra batteries. Bobby Charlton with that powerful shot and quiet authority.

[00:02:02] Martin Peters, clever and smooth. Roger Hunt, always working. And a certain Jeff Hurst. At the start of the tournament, Jeff Hurst wasn't even England's first choice striker. But by the end of it, he'd etch his name into football history forever. The referee blows his whistle and the World Cup final begins. For a while, the match feels tight. Two strong teams trying to work each other out.

[00:02:31] England, pass and move. West Germany, press and probe. The crowd follows every touch, every tackle, every throw-in. Then, after only 12 minutes, England get a shock. West Germany attack. The ball drops loose inside the box. And it comes to Helmut Haller. He scores. England are 1-0 down. But they don't fall apart. Instead, they take a deep breath. They reset.

[00:03:01] And they get back to playing. England win a free kick on the left. With Bobby Moore standing over it. He looks up. And spots Jeff Hurst. Moore swings the ball in. With a kind of cross that asks a striker a question. Jeff Hurst answers with his head. And a goal. England won. West Germany won. And Wembley roars back into life. Now the match is properly opened.

[00:03:30] Every pass matters. Every challenge feels louder. The two teams are level. And the World Cup is still there, up for grabs. The watching crowd are left wondering what will happen next. The England players sit quietly, listening to their manager, Alf Ramsey. Ramsey's not the shouting for the sake of shouting type. He believes in discipline, shape and teamwork. He's built on England's side. He's built on England's side that can play, but also suffer.

[00:03:58] And in a World Cup final, you have to do both. The players go back out. And the second half begins. As the match rolls on, West Germany keep fighting and England keep pushing. Alan Bull runs and runs and runs. As if someone told him the match is being played on every blade of grass. And he's responsible for checking each one. Nobby Stiles snaps into tackles. Bobby Charlton uses the ball with care.

[00:04:26] And Bobby Moore reads the danger before danger knows it's danger. Then, with just ten minutes left, England attack again. The ball comes into the box. There's a scramble. A half-clearance. Bodies everywhere. Martin Peters is there. And he reacts with his left foot. A goal for England, who lead 2-1. Wembley erupts. This could be it. England are just minutes away from winning the World Cup.

[00:04:57] England spend the remaining part of the game passing the ball around. As the clock ticks away, everyone inside Wembley smiles. Happy. Ready to celebrate. But football's rarely that tidy. The final minute arrives and West Germany have a free kick. England defend. But the ball bounces. Nobody can quite clear it properly. Then, Wolfgang Weber scores. 2-2.

[00:05:26] The last moments of normal time run away. And the final whistle goes. It can only mean one thing at this point. With the sun lower in the sky, extra time begins. The shadows stretch a little longer across Wembley now. The match has become less tidy, more desperate, and every touch is heavy with history. Nobody wants to make a mistake.

[00:05:53] Then comes the moment everyone still talks about. Alan Ball, still running, crosses from the right. Jeff Hurst controls, turns and smashes a shot towards goal. The ball hits the underside of the crossbar. Then it bounces down. But was it on the line? Over the line? Back out? For a split second, nobody knows. The England players appeal. The West German players protest.

[00:06:23] The referee speaks to the linesmen. And the crowd wait. The world waits. And then, the decision comes. Goal. England 3. West Germany 2. Jeff Hurst has scored again. Even now, people still argue about whether the ball crossed the line. But on that day, in that stadium, the goal stood. England are ahead and now the match becomes a test of nerve.

[00:06:53] West Germany push forward while England defend. And then, right near the end, England break. Bobby Moore finds himself with the ball deep in his own half. At this point, most defenders would just smash it away. Anywhere. Rosehead, Car Park, East London. Not Bobby Moore. He looks up and even in the final seconds of a World Cup final, he can still see the game clearly.

[00:07:22] He picks out Jeff Hurst with a long pass. Hurst runs onto it. Some fans are starting to spill towards the pitch. They think the match is over. But Hurst keeps going. He's tired, but he has one more sprint in him. One more touch. And maybe one more shot. The commentator, Kenneth Walsonholm, sees people coming onto the field and says the words that become part of English football forever.

[00:07:51] They think it's all over. Hurst hits the ball and it flies into the net. It is now. England 4, West Germany 2. Jeff Hurst has scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. No one had done that before. And no one has done it since in a men's World Cup final. The whistle goes. It's over.

[00:08:21] England are world champions. Bobby Moore climbs the steps to the Royal Box to receive the trophy from Queen Elizabeth. For England, it's a moment of disbelief and delight. For the players, it's the reward for every training session, every tackle, every sprint, every bruise and every doubt. For the fans inside Wembley, it's the story they will tell their children and maybe one day their grandchildren.

[00:08:50] I was there. For football history, this match becomes one of the great finals. So tonight, as you close your eyes, picture Wembley in 1966. The green pitch. The red shirts of England. The old twin towers standing high above the stadium. The crowd rising like a wave. And Bobby Moore lifting the trophy. For one golden summer evening in London,

[00:09:19] England were champions of the world. And that's the full-time whistle on this episode of Football Bedtime Stories. Thank you so much for listening. And if there's a big game you'd like to hear, get the Football Bedtime Stories treatment, drop it in the comments below.

[00:09:48] Until next time, have a great bedtime. This podcast is part of Podomity Kids, the podcast comedy network.